The Odighizuwa Decision - A Quick Primer
I have said that he is the type of player that you must keep. Here is my reasoning why.
Yesterday, I spent a fair amount of time going through the Cowboys offseason shopping list and the top item definitely did require more of our time and attention.
Here is the passage that got me back on the laptop this morning:
The DT has plenty of teams sniffing around and the prices at this position are massive. Is he a superstar? No. Is he a very good NFL starter at this position and easily the best thing Dallas has? Yes. So, now we need to figure out the valuation. PFF suggests that his contract project is sitting at 4 years/$85 million and that would cause riots in Dallas if they signed him to this. Over $21m a year for that?
The franchise tag at this position is $23,468,000, but it drops to $18,934,000 if you just want to put the transition on him. I assume there would be unrest for even that much, but I would be pretty sick to my stomach to see him dominating elsewhere after Dallas invested four years in his development. He makes plays, he plays hard, and he plays in every game. I am not eager to lock him in for four years because he has not proven to be that big of a game-wrecker, but I think a one-year tag buys you the time to see this through while giving Matt Eberflus a chance to build a decent defense this season. I will try to circle back and write more on this guy soon. But, I want to keep him. Keep.
Now, there is no easier way to get people to think you are insane than to suggest to them that you believe a team with "no cap room” – allegedly – should spend a ton of it on a guy that most casuals are not super familiar with. I get that.
But, if you don’t know Osa Odighizuwa’s game, it isn’t his fault. You may recall his ranking in splash plays this year, but if you don’t, this is important, too.
For a defensive tackle to finish this high on your list says two things. 1) you could use a better defense and 2) you have a defensive tackle who is a really good football player.
However, many readers are visual learners, so let’s not look at the page of numbers. Let’s look at a 3:34 minute reel of some of his best plays from this year: